3000 Percent Done with your Shit
by PapaDenDen
Summary: AU- Nico has been living in Manhattan for a while now, and he's just started out as a freshman in College. He's content with his reputation of being feared, and even more so content with sticking to the shadows and being alone. That is, until an unfortunately embarrassing situation brings him crashing into the schools new heartthrob- Percy Jackson, bringing him to question himself.
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Pastry

**Authors note:** Hiya! Zis is an AU, for a College universe with the characters of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It's from Nico's POV and has elements of the newer series and some tiny elements of House of Hades. Though there are **NO spoilers** for that in here, mostly because in order to get these elements, you'd have to have read the book already.

So this story is spoiler free. Rated M for graphic depictions of sexual content and stuffs. Along with language. Lost of angst and shiz. Mentions of Percibeth, because yes I do love Percibeth, but if you're reading this, this is a Percico fic. With character development. So yes, there is porn, but its porn WITH plot. E UE~!

Not the first fic I've written. AT LEAST TWO REVIEWS AND I SHALL CONTINUE THE STORY~! Will be multichaptered. Carry on. Thanks!

* * *

It really shouldn't have affected him nearly as much as it did. It should have just rolled off his shoulders- like everything else in this damned place did. Just like the time that kid Grover had run into him in the halls, and Nico had given him a look enough to make him almost _shriek_ as he pulled away, looking as if he'd been burned or something. A thing like that the freshman could easily brush off- it had been happening to him all his life. It wasn't like he was the most popular guy in school, not even from the very start. But then again, being the guy everyone disliked in comparison to the guy everyone was afraid of, now **that** would have been better then what he had to live with. Nico Di Angelo wasn't quite sure what it was about him that really made everyone look at him with terror in their eyes. But the slender boy with dark, tousled locks and pale skin just couldn't figure it out. He'd been called a ghost several times- hell, half the time all he would have to do was stick to the walls and find a shaded place, and not a single person would notice he was there until he opened his mouth to pass a snarky comment. He had even gone to class for three years with the Stoll brothers, Connor and Travis, and they hadn't even noticed he existed till they were forced to be partners with him for a whole semester during Biology class. Honestly, Nico would have thought that the class clowns would have noticed him earlier. Apparently the quiet, creepy Italian boy who had moved to Manhattan a few years ago had always been prime target for pranks and mischievous behaviour. And the Stoll brothers were the epitome of mischievous behaviours.

Nico pulled his leather jacket a bit closer to his sleek frame as a shiver took over his spine- _what the hell just happened_? His dark eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth hung half open like a fish, garbled breaths leaving his throat as he quietly stood in sheer astonishment. Seriously- what made him so damn _scary_ to people? Was it his torn, faded black jeans? His high top, black and red studded shoes? Was it his skull shirt that gleamed menacingly at everyone who caught a glimpse of it through his dark, leather jacket? Was it the fact that his skin was unusually pale for an Italian boy, and that his eyes had a darker tinge that framed his usual glower? Was it because his jaw had been set in what seemed like a permanent grimace? Was it how his hair was slightly longer than the average jock, and it almost fell in front of his eyes whenever he turned his head? Was it because he was the only freshman at this damned place who had decided to break dress code, and was too intimidating for the teachers to actually _talk_ to him about it? After a moment he finally closed his mouth, and took in a deep, steady breath. He had to get out of here; after what just happened, Nico couldn't afford to just stand in the hall and look like an idiot. He had a reputation to keep. Although, he wasn't so sure now that he really _wanted_ to keep it anymore. His eyes slowly and deliberately sank into a scowl, and the look on his sleek features soured. A couple of students whom of which had stopped by to witness the event shuffled uncomfortably, taking one look at Nico's expression and hurrying off. No doubt to inform the whole damn school. Nico wanted to lift his head up and scream in frustration as he hiked his dark shoulder bag a bit farther up and turned on the spot, walking in the opposite direction that the other guy had gone. He needed to evacuate the scene of the crime, and find a spot where he could sit by himself and figure out what had just happened to him.

* * *

He threw his bag down onto the ground without even the slightest consideration for its contents as he pulled out a bobby pin and began to work on cracking the door to the roof. It wasn't that hard, if you knew how to do it, that is. And after their mother had passed away- Nico and his sister, Bianca, had to pick up quite a few extra skills just in order to survive on the streets of Italy. His heart throbbed with pain and he shook the thought of her from his mind, his face twisting with dread as he tried to force the lock a bit harder. The memory of what had happened about twenty minutes ago now was still running fresh through his mind- but none of it was making any sense to him. He had been silently following Connor and Travis to their next class, like he normally did. Ever since he'd started taking classes with them, they'd almost insisted on taking him on as their new 'friend'. But Nico knew that word all too well- it was mostly just a replacement for the word 'pet'. They had found out that Nico could silently get in and out of places without a single person ever noticing he was there to begin with, and fascinated with the new possibilities, they started to insist Nico hang around with them. Of course, Nico had vehemently protested at first, but the power of the Stoll brothers was legendary. And he wasn't in the mood to fight their tactics after three days of finding at least twenty five notes in his locker, five in his gym locker, and an e-mail every ten seconds that made his phone constantly vibrate in his pocket. After the first day of the soft, rattling vibration running against the plastic of his chair, Nico was sure everyone would start getting funny ideas. And once the second day of the spam hit over three hundred messages, Nico finally gave in.

So it had been a normal day, shifting from one class to another, begrudgingly following the loud brothers to where ever it was that they wanted to go, just so they could prove a point. Or... _something_. Nico had stopped paying attention to them about a month ago. He could remember rolling his eyes viciously at them, and using his Connor stated 'superpower' to blend into the crowd of students behind them, ultimately swerving through the chattering people completely unnoticed. His eyes scanned for his locker, and once the number came up, he sidestepped and lightly twirled around behind someone to get at it. He stopped, pressing himself up with his chest flat against his locker like he normally did, and waited for the wall huggers to walk past without batting a lash at him. Which was fine, because Nico liked it better that way. Conversations with idiotic people made his head hurt. Trying to tell a stubborn person that the law of physics says you can't drink water upside down, that and that gravity exists, is even _more_ of a headache. So Nico would rather not talk at all. And, as usual, after the first wave of college idiots whooped by, Nico had the space and the silence enough to comfortable get his things for his next class. All completely regular, nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until he twirled the combination to the lock on his locker and cracked it open with a bit of force.

Which may not have been such a bad thing, had Nico known about the Stoll brothers decision to mess with his locker. Nico let out a sound of surprise mixed with sheer annoyance as a spring that had been slipped into his locker loaded with some sort of pastry that they must have jacked from the cafeteria this morning. Nico instantly regretted letting Travis come with him when he changed his lock at the office the other day. Travis had a few tricks up his sleeve, and somehow getting the combination to his lock wasn't all that surprising, really. So Nico had a moment of panic- this was his FAVORITE shirt. There was no way in hell he was getting cream all over it, so he immediately ducked and angled his locker door away from himself. At first, once he looked up and had seen that the spring trap had sprung, he immediately stood up and patted at his jacket, testing to see if anything had managed to get onto the leather. Bianca had given him this jacket. He wasn't going to let anything happen to-

" _Whoa!_" A voice chimed in utter shock from behind him, and Nico froze, one hand resting over his chest, the other patting down by his left hip. He blinked, and then silently cursed to himself. Slowly he turned around, trying to keep his usual annoyed expression and grimace as nasty as he could possibly make-

Oh gods. Who… _What_…. Who in the hell was _that_? Nico couldn't help it, the annoyed expression on his features faltered. His eyes had slipped from a glower to shock, slowly widening as they took in the sight in front of him. There, standing just behind him, was a boy he'd never seen before. He was tall, with slightly tossed, dark locks. His jawline was chiseled, and Nico could see the outline of his muscles through the neck of his orange t-shirt that fit rather tightly against his skin beneath his dark blue jacket. His skin wasn't light, but it wasn't dark either, as though he'd spent a lot of time outside. And he looked it, too- he wasn't a smaller boy. Nico opened his mouth to say something, anything, but just as he looked up to make eye contact; he caught the boy's eyes. Immediately Nico found himself ensnared in a pair of wide eyed, shock filled blue pools. They were like bright, blue jewels. Nico was unable to really close his mouth, and suddenly he felt small.

"Uh-" The boy started, and his hand went up to wipe at something that had landed- oh gods, _no_. The pastry- it had landed just over the tall, demi-god like boy's stomach, and Nico was REALLY at a loss for words now. "I- I just.. uh.." And so was the boy, apparently, and when he spoke, his semi-baritone voice seemed to captivate the halls. That's when Nico noticed a few other people standing in shock, with their eyebrows raised and a mix of amusement and disbelief coming onto their faces. Oh god, no one had noticed Nico was there again. Wait- if no one noticed he was there… did that mean they thought _he'd_ thrown it himself..?

" Shit-" Nico started, taking a light step back towards his locker, trying to hide the spring with the small amount of cream dripping from it.

"Well. Uh, I guess it's nice to meet you, too…?" The boy started, gently looking down for a moment to crinkle his nose at the spot on his shirt. Nico's mind raced. Why was this guy so close to him, anyways?

" That's not-" Nico cut himself off as he saw the boy shrug awkwardly as he avoided looking over at Nico for a moment and turned to walk closer to him. Nico was positive he had gotten himself into a scrap, at least, until the boy reached out for the locker beside his and turned the combination. It popped open with a sickening click, and Nico finally realized why he'd been standing there to begin with. Nico wanted to scream- _way to go, Di Angelo_. Way to fuck shit up already. He tried to say something yet again, but his voice had escaped him, and he could feel an unsure expression drive its way onto his face. Mister tall, dark, and mysterious turned to grab something from his locker, and Nico was mildly surprised when he pulled out another orange t-shirt.

"Hey, knowing my luck, stuff like this happens, right?" He had tried, but Nico could hear the force of the laugh that the boy attempted to share with him after. The boy avoided looking Nico in the eye the entire time as he pulled his dark blue jacket a bit closer to hide the spot.

"'I'm just gonna, you know, go change. _Thanks_." And at that point Nico snapped back to reality- the way he'd said thanks meant that he really DID think Nico had thrown that on purpose. He was going to kill those brothers if it was the last thing he- _Shit_. The guy who resembled a demigod had started to walk away- and that's when everything fell apart. Nico, in a desperate attempt to fix what had happened and explain himself, had reached out and grabbed the boy's wrist from behind. He could feel the boy stiffen immediately with shock before he turned around and looked Nico in the eyes. The expression of alarm and discomfort on his face hit Nico like a fucking ton of bricks, and he immediately let go, and turned back to his locker. There was a pause, as if the awkward action hung over their heads in the air for a moment, and Nico refused to look back at the other boy as he reached into his locker and began to try and pry the spring off. He could almost feel the guy standing there for a minute, probably regarding Nico and trying to judge just how damn crazy he really was. Nico tried to close his mouth, and managed to do so for only a minute, until he felt the boy finally walk away towards a bathroom. Nico had finally managed to pry the damn thing off and tossed it to the floor in annoyance, before he glanced back at the boy and watched him walk away. The previous expression he'd held on his face came back, but this time he sputtered in confusion.

He managed to pull himself from the memory when the lock to the roof finally cracked with a soft _click_. Seriously, what the fuck just happened? Nico groaned the instant he got onto the roof, slamming the door shut and throwing himself down by the edge. He snuck his body through the bars and let his legs fly over the edge, a look of sheer disbelief mixed with anger taking over his face. He whipped out his phone and brought it to his eyes, hitting into an old conversation with Connor that he'd had a while back. He couldn't remember Travis' number.

_I'm gonna fucking end you._

He texted, hitting send with far too much force. He then deliberately turned off his device and chucked it back into his pocket. No excuses, he was gonna throttle those two. And it wasn't like Nico couldn't defend himself- the first year he'd moved to Manhattan with his new foster parents he'd gotten into a scrap with one of the boys at school. But, then again, being an Italian orphan who had to fight every day just to survive and try to protect his sister, people had realized right quick that Nico di Angelo may be small, but he wasn't a push over. And at this point, he was seriously going to knock out Connor's teeth, and shove them down Travis' throat. Normally, though, this shouldn't have made him want to knock them into next week. This should have bounced right off of him. But there was something about those round, blue eyes and that grimace of discomfort when Nico had touched the guy that really unsettled him. Nico brought his legs up and ran a hand through his hair, resting his chin between his knees and looking out at the city line of Manhattan. Why… was Nico so _scary_, again? What about him made people cringe like that- even just at the thought of him being around? Sometimes the whole situation just amazed him. And, as much as he would never admit it, being hated and feared was something that actually really hurt Nico, though most of the time he could just brush it off like nothing had happened. So why was it that the one time that it didn't, it had to be with a guy like _that_? For a few moments Nico allowed himself to keep his head between his knees as he draped his arms over them as well. That is, until a voice from below caught his attention.

"Heeeeeey!" Nico twitched, and he allowed himself to lean forwards a bit to look down at whomever was making such a god damned ruckus. A red tuft had shoved itself out through the window on the top floor below him, and half a body ended up following it. Connor Stoll stuck himself brazenly out the window, and Nico caught a glimpse of two hands on either side of his waist. Most likely Travis was holding him up so he wouldn't fall out as he rolled over and faced his torso to the sky. Or in this case, towards Nico, which was a very _bad_ idea.

"We heard what happened!" _Good,_ Nico thought, reaching back to grab his bag that he'd all but kicked onto the roof with him. He pulled out the lunch that he'd been packed today, cracking the lid to the tupperware container and aimed the damn thing at Connors head. Connor saw what was coming and immediately paled, yelling at Travis to reel him in or something, but it was too late, Nico had already aimed and fired. Travis stuck half his body out, and they both yelled in vindication as they managed to pull each other in, just before the chunks of chicken and rice came raining down on them. Travis barely managed to avoid getting smashed in the face with his container, and just the expression of alarm on the both of them was almost enough to make Nico feel better.

"Wait, wait!" Travis' voice chimed from in behind the window, where they now remained, safe from Nico's firing range. "We didn't mean for- well, _okay_. Yeah, we did kind of mean for it to-" A snort of laughter came from Connor, which was abruptly ended by a rather audible smack from Travis, and Nico felt his lips purse together and his arms cross over his chest.

"-but we _really_ didn't think you'd end up getting that new guy!" Travis wailed, obviously knowing that whenever Nico was annoyed enough to remain silent during a conversation, the instant they were in range, they could expect a fist in their face. "We're _sorry_!" Connor wailed too, and Nico suddenly became aware of just how terrified they were at the prospect of getting on Nico's really bad side. A pang of pain ran through his chest and Nico abruptly stood up, thoroughly done with today. It wasn't like he needed his afternoon classes anyways. He had a pretty decent attendance record, so taking the afternoon off wasn't going to be a hugely impacting deal for him. So he threw his bag back over his shoulder and kicked some dirt down by the window, where Travis had curiously began to stick his nose back out. And echo of coughs rose up from below him, and Nico felt satisfaction settle in his stomach as he went back through the door he'd cracked the lock on.

* * *

Nico kicked his shoes off at the door, quietly placing them into the closet and trying to make his way up to his room. Most kids preferred to stay at the college dorms, however, Nico wasn't one who liked to share a room with anyone but himself. Besides- it wasn't like it was a long transit ride from his house to the college- which was one of the nicer points about owning an actual house in Manhattan. The residences were generally closer to schools, whereas the apartments were closer to the shopping centers. Still, Nico had the choice of staying at the dorm he'd been assigned too- but it just wasn't his thing. He really didn't need the trouble of being surrounded by people. So he huffed out a quiet breath and made his way through the entrance, attempting to pass by the little doorway to the kitchen unnoticed.

" Nico..?" A quiet, sleepy voice chimed from the table, and Nico froze where he was. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he turned to look over to the person who had spoken to him.

" _Hazel_? What are you doing here?" He asked, legitimate concern filling his voice. Hadn't she had school today, or something? What if she wasn't feeling good? What if something happened? An internal panic rose inside the pit of his stomach, a fear he never dared share with anyone. Bianca… after she'd passed away so suddenly, even the thought of something happening to Hazel terrified him to the core. Nico had never been the same after Bianca's death. He couldn't bare to watch Hazel, whom of which after he'd first met her in the foster system, come to any harm. Not after he'd met her and found out her story. He'd taken a hold of her and refused to let go- she was his sister now, and he couldn't let himself get caught up in the past. But sometimes his worry and his own personal insecurities caused a lump of fear to rise in his throat.

"Oh, it was a PD day at school." She said softly, in a light mumble, as if she'd just woken up a few moments ago. Her hand lifted to her face, and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her pretty chocolate skin contrasting against her purple night shirt. Her unruly locks lay at odd angles over the top of her head, but Nico couldn't help but sigh in relief. Her fuzzy green pajama bottoms and her night shirt all seemed to be in order, and he relaxed the tension in his shoulders. He plopped his bag down by the entrance and made his way over to the table, sitting down next to her with a hefty sigh. Hazel always thought so little of herself- but who wouldn't, growing up in a racist, bigoted town like she had? Nico always tried his hardest to inadvertently get her to see just how pretty she really was, but then again, Nico wasn't so good at that sort of thing. His mind had rolled off track, and before he knew it, Hazel had realized the time.

"Hey- what are YOU doing here? Don't you have classes?" She asked, glancing up at Nico's face. She took one look at him before her eyes widened with concern and she sat up, immediately awake.

"What happened?" It surprised Nico sometimes how well Hazel could discern the difference between his regular grimace and his grimace of actual annoyance. No one else paid him any mind, but Hazel could just… somehow... _tell_. He took in a deep breath, contemplating telling her about what happened, before she stood up and rushed over to the counter.

"I was going to make some breakfast, do you want anything?" The mention of food made him bring his hand up to his forehead and rest his fingers in his locks. But, then again, he had tossed his lunch out the window at the Stolls' faces, so his stomach grumbled in compliance. At that moment, he decided to tell Hazel what had happened, mostly because Hazel was the only person he really COULD just outright talk to. It took a bit of careful thought, and some planning on wording, but he managed to get the story out. She listened quietly while she worked to make some late afternoon eggs, toast, and some hash browns slathered in cheese and tomatoes. That is, until Nico got to the part where he tossed his lunch out the window and nearly got Travis in the face. She giggled and snorted, looking back at him with amusement dancing in her big, round eyes.

"Mum's gonna be mad about the container." She said through a giggle.

"She's not back till next week." Nico retorted, and Hazel laughed heartily before he threw the food onto a plate and handed it to Nico.

"Did you tell him it wasn't you after that?"

"…Huh?" Nico asked stupidly as he grabbed a fork and started shovelling food into his mouth. Hazel pursed her lips together and blinked over at him.

"Uh, did you even get his NAME?" She said a little more forcefully, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her spatula against her arm. Nico blinked up at her, and then swore in Italian under his breath, nearly making himself choke on his food.

" I- uh, _no_?" He asked, confusion flying onto his features as Hazel rolled her eyes and poked the spatula towards his face. Nico had to shuffle to avoid a drop of cheese that threatened to land on his pants before he looked back up at her.

"Find out tomorrow! And when you do, just… tell him the truth this time. Come on, you don't know he'll hate you until you at least TRY to explain it to him." She said, turning back to grab her plate of food and tossed the spatula into the sink. Nico opened his mouth to say something, but she walked away before he could say it, so he decided to groan instead. But... that would actually require _talking_ to the guy. Which, as previously discovered, was apparently too fucking difficult for his mouth to do. He rolled his eyes, finished his food and stomped up the stairs. Hazel would be in her room, eating, and texting that _Frank_ kid. So Nico would go for a shower, clear his head, then shut his curtains and barricade himself to his room.

* * *

He wasn't sure how it started, really. He'd slipped out of his clothes and tossed them into his room- the steam might damage his older leather jacket. He'd made his way up to the bathroom in his towel, threw it to the floor once he'd gotten in there, and flicked the tap over the tub to as hot as he could get it to go. Sometimes he needed the heat, the steam, to breathe in and clear his head. Other times he wasn't a fan of anything overly hot. But since temperatures were brazen in Italy, and not so much here, every once and a while he craved an almost familiar feel. So he'd started up his shower, slipped into the water, and told his mind to shut the ever loving hell up.

So then, why had _this_ happened? He'd kept going through today's fiasco over and over again in his mind, and at first it felt agonizing, but then his mind started to zone and focus on things he wasn't so sure he originally wanted it too. Like his eyes, and the way his dark locks fell in a light, messy wave over his forehead a bit. How he stood, a little awkward and unsure, and the tip of his collar bone peeking out from the top of that ridiculous orange shirt he wore. That half, crooked frown he put on his face, and the way his eyes danced and fluttered down to avoid Nico's gaze- at first, all of this had hurt. But then his mind focused on the little details. The details like… just how pretty this guy had actually been. Like.. like his jawline had been perfect, like his eyes were a blazing color of blue that just made Nico shiver against the current of heat washing over his already sensitized skin. Wait, why was he really feeling the water trickling and kissing his curves, again? Nico opened his eyes, faintly catching the sight of water trickling down his nose as he glanced down and- _oh gods_.

Nico instantly choked on himself, and for a good minute, he didn't know what to do. The water had felt like it was pulsing around him- like it was slithering down his body, playing over his skin, sending waves of a rush shooting up from the pit of his stomach. And now he knew why. Since when… since when did thinking about some… some _guy _end up getting Nico…

_Oh gods_, Nico was _hard._ Full mast, braving the storm, running the weather _hard_. No- this can't be happening to him. He… he had- it was the water, alright? It was a perfectly natural, physiological reaction. Still, he could feel his heart beating and fluttering behind his chest, and even when he moved to bring his hand up against the tile for support, his head tilted down to look at the base of his stomach. He was so damn tense, so knotted up.. over… _no_. This wasn't true. It couldn't be true, right? But still. Nico found his fingers trailing along the streams of water running down his chest- it wasn't like Nico was scrawny. He'd been working to survive his whole life- so he had some muscles. But they were just lean, and would only ever come about to be of use when needed. And they certainly weren't needed now. So then… why were his abs tensed and flexed as if he'd just been running a marathon? Why were the muscles in his arms protruding as if they were trying to carry something? And why the hell did he have this aching knot in his stomach, pulsing so fucking badly that he just.. needed to run his fingers down a bit further?

Nico's breath came out in short, rattling, quiet gasps as he pursed his lips together and blew some of the water that had gotten into his mouth out, and before he knew it, his fingers had found their way past his abs and down his pelvis, drawing absent and timid circles into his skin. His mind reeled, and before he could stop himself, his fingers darted around the head of his cock, and his thumb absently pressed against the tip. Nico's breath caught, and his eyes flickered down again, and for a terrifying moment, he realized what he was doing. Nico's hand flew off of himself, despite the throb of protest from his nether regions. The hand supporting himself on the tiles of his shower wall went instantly to the tap, and flicked the water on full blast to cold. It hit him like an icy spray of needles, and he leaned back to let the water rush down and pelt his abdomen.

There was no way in hell he was going to jerk to a random guy he'd met in the halls today. Nico was a normal guy, with normal needs, and it was JUST a physiological reaction. Nothing more, nothing less.

He would wait by his locker tomorrow and confront this guy. He would explain it to him, and then he would tell the guy to not show his stupid, pretty ass face around Nico ever again. Because that would solve everything. Nico could go back to being his normal, secluded self- and go back to not caring what everyone else thought of him again.


	2. The Stoll brothers can't fix Shit

**Authors notes**: Hey guys! So this one is a little bit shorter because I really wanted to get it out. Mostly because I get to have smut things in the next chapter.

MMMMMMMmmmm smut things.

I mean whut.

But thank you to all of you who put me on their favs, alerts, and reviewed this story! Because of the sudden overwhelming response, I have decided to make this a longer fic than I originally wanted too. With my plot twisties. And lots of angsties. And tension.

So much sexual tension. E UE~3! I NOTICED A TYPO IN THE FIRST CHAPTER. Hnng. Typos. If I miss something, blame… Connor. That's it. Thanks for reading, and share with your friends Because.. who doesn't like Percico?

Love, Papa.

* * *

Waking up in the morning sucked on any other day, but for some reason, Nico knew he would be up all night tossing and turning. At first it was because his mind wouldn't shut up. Then, at about eleven pm, Connor started texting him again. Except Nico had been too pissed and overall frustrated with this to even turn and look at it. So the instant he saw the 'C' in Connor he turned his phone off and threw it beneath his bedside night stand, grumbling colorful words of not encouragement. He rolled over in his thick, warm blankets, trying to wrap himself in as much as he could. The more secure and hidden he was from the world, the better. Because now not only did he have his name being slandered by a misinterpretation, but there was something else floating in the back of his mind now. And, by about three o'clock in the morning of just tossing, turning, and trying to re-wrangle himself into the covers, Nico let out a huff of breath and decided he didn't even like the new guy.

And that he thoroughly hated the Stoll brothers. And maybe the rest of the world, too. Because for all he could care, they could just go roll into a Kama sutra mat filled with tiny little cactus needles. And roll around. And then proceed to get poked until they die. Because… Nico Di Angelo was not weird in any other way than he already was. No, that would ruin his life. That would be like the entire world just threw him a curve ball that threw a big ol' fuck you right into his face. Cept the ball turned out to be a wrench. Nico reached out, mostly because he was just infuriated, and knocked his stupid alarm clock right off his desk. The pale, twitching red glow of those digital numbers was nothing but a reminder of how many hours he had left until he had to get up. Which was perfectly not alright. He let his arm flop down to the side of his bed, and let his head hang off the side. He took a huge breath, glancing up in the near pitch black room that he was in before his mind finally started to calm. Yeah. He would tell the new guy that he did it on purpose. He wouldn't even tell him the truth- he'd just simply state that he didn't want to see him around. Or talk to him. Or have him near Nico, ever again. He would lie about what actually happened- because at this point, the idea of lying and keeping him away from Nico was far better than trying to tell the truth and make amends.

Because avoiding your problems is so much easier than NOT avoiding your problems, right? Nico finally found himself at ease, and gently started to drift into slumber, with the thoughts of cactusy death floating pleasantly around in his head.

* * *

Screech. Screech. **Screech.**

"Guah!" Nico yowled as he fell from his bed, apparently having forgotten that he'd fallen asleep half on and half hanging off. A huge thump echoed throughout the house- followed by a sickening crunch and an even more discomforting crack. Nico opened his eyes instantly, flailing his arms about to try and untangle himself from his mess of covers in order to figure out what the fuck just broke. That is, until he stopped cold turkey, and realized that his alarm had stopped beeping. Nico took in a deep breath and held it for a second, slowly peeling himself up from the covers and then lightly flipping them up to look at the pile beneath him.

His alarm clock was totalled. Hell, if Nico hadn't been wrapped up so tightly in his blankets, he probably would have a broken bone or something from how hard he'd startled himself and rolled from the bed. He forced his eyes shut and groaned loudly, tossing his sheets back up onto the floor, before he stood up and outright kicked them. The cold of not having a shirt, or proper pants, hit him suddenly and he crossed his arms over his chest to pout. If his alarm had gone off, that meant it was about seven o'clock in the morning. He'd fallen asleep around three thirty. So that was about three and a half hours of sleep. Nico yawned and turned to walk away, viciously kicking at his mess of tangled blankets and metallic clock parts before he did.

"Are you okay?" A soft, mumbling voice called from his door, and Nico finally noticed the little crack in his doorway with Hazel poking her tired face inside. One hand was clutched around a stuffed lion that Frank kid had given her; the other was gently rubbing at an eye. Nico took in another deep breath and forced himself to relax, though his shoulder slumped and he kicked the pile of blankets on the floor one more time, exposing the one broken half of his clock. Hazel paled and stopped her movement, her mouth going wide down at the decimated device below him.

"Oh." She squeaked, and Nico brought his hands to rub at his face, before he walked over to his dresser and grabbed a towel.

"Yeah." He said, not really needing to explain anything farther than that. Hazel scrunched up her face in horror when she realized why this was a seriously bad thing.

"That's your only alarm clock." She stated, opening the door a bit further to creep in.

"Yup." Nico didn't want to say it out loud, which meant that Hazel would be saying it for him.

". . . Mum's not back till _next week._" Her voice was smaller this time, though it was mostly quiet with dread and thought. Nico knew her mind would be racing to find him another solution- but since he'd accidentally dropped his phone into the tub last week, his speakers had blown. Which was why it was only on vibrate. Which was why this was such a huge problem. Especially since Hazel was younger than he was, and she had a different schedule for school. He always had to be up before she did- and they both knew that was impossible to do without something to wake him up first. Still, he didn't want Hazel to worry about it too much- she had things he had to do. She couldn't be focused on Nico's problems right now. So he shook his head and flashed her a small, tired grin. It was only a tiny upright tug of his lips, but it was all he could do to reassure her.

"I'll figure it out. You go back to bed."

Hazel seemed unsure at first, clutching her stuffed lion to her chest and examining Nico with a softened expression.

"But..." She started, but Nico was already by the door, shooing her out.

"You're still holding Mars. Go to bed, okay?" Hazel looked down at Mars the Lion and nodded gently, but then sent him a look before she tootled off.

"You let me know the instant you get home today! I mean it!" She half yelled at him, and he waved her off and nodded a bit, making his way to the shower.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. It's _fine_." He spoke false words of encouragement, but he knew the truth.

_He was royally fucked._

* * *

Seriously. Nico had not been in the mood for the bus this morning. Or… life, really. He wasn't in the mood for life. It could just hold the fuck up for ten minutes while he caught his breath, and then maybe he could find some sort of magical device to help fix his problems for him. And hell, in a perfect world, he would have just been able to take one step and be at the school already. But unfortunately he was stuck in the corner, sandwiched between a bunch of high schoolers yelling about what sort of drugs they wanted to do today. Because that was apparently something the kids around here did now. Loud, illegal conversations. At least it wasn't as bad as the time he SERIOUSLY had to try and talk to a kid when he was convinced he could drink upside down.

And the answer is no. Nico will NEVER let that one go. _Ever._

Still, at least he made it to school unnoticed, because he was pretty damn good at that. Today he'd worn a different set of dark grey, once again torn, jeans. That and he wore his black shirt with little menacing skulls floating around in random places beneath his leather jacket. He sighed and pulled his phone from his pocket, not daring to turn it on. Still, he had to figure out what he was going to do for the next week- it wasn't like he had very many options, here. Nico grumbled to himself as he stomped up the stairs, avoiding a few curious glances towards him. Normally he'd go unnoticed when he entered the school- but unfortunately word must have gotten around about the whole thing stupidly fast. No thanks to Connor and Travis, probably. Still, for a simple new guy, people were certainly looking at him. And it was making Nico extremely uncomfortable. He hiked his bag up a bit further onto his shoulders and hunched himself in, shoving his spare hand into his jacket pocket and storming up the stairs. He had little to no sleep last night, and he wasn't going to play this game this morning.

Or at least, that's what he had thought, up until a hand darted out and grabbed his arm, dragging him off to the side before he could go through the doors.

"Dood!" Travis hissed, his eyes filled with urgency. "Why haven't you texted us back?" He demanded, and suddenly Nico flared with rage. He twisted his arm around and pulled it out from Travis' grip, and Connor flew out from behind him, barring Nico's path. Nico's eyes widened in annoyance, and he paused.

"_Three seconds before I beat the shit out of you._" Nico hissed- the violence in his own voice even made him slightly concerned. Connor's eyes widened and he bounced around on the balls of his feet, his red tuft of hair bobbing lightly in the wind.

"We fixed it! Honest!" Connor called, and Travis began to nod furiously. Nico felt himself freeze, and he slowly turned to look back at Travis. They fixed it? The STOLL brothers FIXED something? Oh gods, _no._

"Don't worry about it, dood! You know how that whole thing with the new guy happened yesterday, and you were all, hulk smash and junk?" Connor said from behind him.

"That was a waste of chicken." Travis had probably been thinking about that all night, and Connor reached over past Nico's shoulder to give Travis a generous smack. Travis looked genuinely offended and shot Connor a look of indignation.

"Well, anyways- we did some digging, cause we're really good at that. And we found out some really important stuff about that guy-" Connor started, before being interrupted by Travis yet again.

" Jackson."

" _Percy_, wasn't it? I dunno. Anyways. We tracked him down. Apparently he's this new transfer student or something." Connor murmured, going back to bouncing on the back of his heels.

"A _senior._" Quipped Travis, a sparkle of amusement flashing through his eyes.

"Right!" Connor agreed, sending Travis a look as if he'd finally just realized how smart the other was. Nico wanted to punch the both of them, but the feeling of dread slowly crawling up from the pit of his stomach prevented him from even being able to move.

"What did you do?" Nico's voice was filled with accusation. Connor looked a little unsure of himself, before he glanced over and saw Travis shrug stupidly.

"Duh! We fixed it!"

"Yeah, we talked to him!" The feeling in Nico's stomach came to a boiling point, and everything else inside him seemed to drop all at once. His eyes widened with alarm, and he found himself floundering for a second, and his heart threatened to pound out his throat.

"You didn't." It was a horrified whisper, so much so that Travis shot Connor a look of utter confusion.

"Er, we did though, didn't we?" Travis reached over this time to smack Connor, because the waver in his voice seriously meant that he was confused as to whether or not they actually did.

"Well, yeah, we did! And we totally cleared EVERYTHING up! All of it!" They both nodded in triumph, but then Connor turned to play with his hands a bit.

"Left out a few minor details, though." His voice suddenly turned guilty, and Travis shifted a bit where he stood.

"Mighta switched em out for some OTHER, er, you know. _Minor details._" Nico had heard enough. He clenched his fist and widened his stance, barely giving the shrieking brothers a second to think before he plowed his fist towards them. It was a good thing Connor had seen it coming, because he grabbed onto Travis' arm and yanked him out of the way before Nico's fist could connect him squarely in the jaw. The both of them cawed like offended birds and ducked into the school, leaving Nico to stand alone behind the pillar that Travis had been using to hide with. He allowed himself to stay there for a minute to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. Okay, so, talking to.. Jackson, was it? Was totally out of the picture. Full on avoidance of all and any sorts of problems was now of the highest priority. So he took in a deep breath, put on a face, and stomped into the school.

Nico wasn't going to wait for.. Percy? To show up. He wasn't going to talk to him ever again, actually. However, the second he thought he might be half decently okay when it came to avoiding just regular people, it turns out he was desperately wrong. For some reason, he was having a hell of a time turning invisible today. Because people were turning to look at him and whisper, now. Which was something that Nico had always been paranoid about. He hated being stared at, but being whispered about was far worse. He grit his teeth and trudged through the crowd, trying not to think about the possibilities of what the Stoll Shits might have said. And what could be going around. Nico shook the thought from his head and smushed himself up against his locker, this time facing the crowd as they walked away, though his head was tilted downwards to stare a hole into his shoes. He would wait for the wall huggers to disperse, then he'd grab his shit, then he'd run to PE, which he would then get accounted for attending, and then ditch to the roof. Best plan ever. That is, until the crowd had actually dispersed, and the first thing that Nico heard was a little cough from above him.

Nico made the mistake of looking up, and was immediately swept away into a sea of blue pools.

"Uh." Nico sputtered, feeling small all over again as he looked into those slightly awkward eyes. The owner of those eyes shot a small, half crooked and unsure grin down at Nico, and Nico felt his heart threatening to stop. Percy lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, and shuffled a foot, before he looked down at his own. Nico would have followed his gaze, but was too captivated by the senior in front of him to do anything at the moment. So all he could really do was take in a deep breath and try to make his mouth work with him again.

"Hey, uh- Nico, right?" Nico remained silent, but nodded slightly, trying to force a scowl onto his features. He was sure he managed to make one, though how sincere it actually appeared to be might have been thrown into question.

"So I talked to- er, Travis? Or... was it Connor? I don't know. One of them, I think. And they told me about everything. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry about all the trouble I caused." Percy finally admitted, half leaning forwards onto the tips of his toes before letting himself fall back.

"What?" Nice finally managed to get out. Okay, now he was confused. And pissed. And tired. And done with all of this. "What the hell did they tell you?" Nico demanded now, throwing his hand up and blocking Percy from view with it. He rubbed his temple out of exhaustion, annoyance and stress, and silently hoped Percy couldn't hear his heart hammering in his chest. Suddenly Percy got extremely awkward, and he made a sort of '_harrumpf'_ sound before he tapped his fist into the palm of his hand, trying to figure out how to word it.

"Well?" Nico demanded, more forcefully, this time Percy's eyes widened and he almost winced a bit. And the same feeling that Nico got when he'd seen Percy's face yesterday after he'd grabbed onto his arm coursed through him yet again. Nico just wanted this conversation to be over. He was dying on the inside.

Suddenly a small sound chimed from Percy's wrist, and it made him jump a little before he looked down, in a slight panic. Nico wanted to scream at the heavens.

"Look, gym is about to start." Of course this muscle headed, **gorgeous**- wait. What was Nico starting to think-

"I kinda can't be late for that class. I'm really sorry. We can talk more at lunch, alright? I actually know a couple of people here, believe it or not. I've gone to camp with some of them." Percy paused, as if realizing he'd started to ramble, and then waved the thought off.

"The back table at lunch. You should come sit with us- I think it'd be good for you, alright? But it's the back one on the left!" Percy yelled, because at about halfway through that conversation he had started to back up in the direction of the gym. Nico found himself shocked, yet again, and his mouth was hanging open slightly. Not only did Nico now have a bigger problem on his hands than he had originally thought, but something else had surface and reared its ugly head right up. Something that he should have seen coming. Considering it WAS a mixed levels class. But now, it was the most horrifying realization he'd had all day.

Nico Di Angelo had gym class with _Percy Jackson._


End file.
